


Until Our Timelines Tangle Again

by Sirithilwen



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: And Thirteen being stupid, F/F, River being River, Stumbling, Thirteen being an adorable lovestruck idiot, Yaz and Ryan teasing, it's all fluff for now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 05:05:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16056128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sirithilwen/pseuds/Sirithilwen
Summary: In a boring old dingy 21st century bar the Doctor is winding down with her friends totally playing pool and definitely not staring at a mop of wild golden curls. What even is pining? The mop soon turns out to be River, and the bar turn out to be a trap where every piece of furniture has the potential to be stumbled over.





	Until Our Timelines Tangle Again

"Doctor? Doctor, it's your turn", Yaz said waving a hand in front of her face. Pulled out of her reverie the Doctor struggled to remember. Her turn? What turn? Oh, right the pool table.

"Are you alright?", Yaz asked putting a hand on her arm. Yeah, sure she was alright. It wasn't like her thinking was totally mangled and definitely not here but carrying her far far away, or rather 10 meters away being pulled to the mop of golden hair at the bar, lighting up the dingy surrounding.

"Doctor?" Right. Maybe she should have answered the previous question.

Fortunately Ryan chimed in, releasing the Doctor from the conversation. "Yaz, you actually are blind aren't you?", he teased. "I have never in my life met someone so thick"

"Shut up! And what are you talking about? I'm actually concerned for our friend here!" Yaz answered, the bickering of her friends dimly registering in the back of the Doctor's mind.

"Don't you see it?"

"What?"

"Man, seriously Yaz, she's bloody starstruck. All lovey doey. Crushing on that woman over there?"

"Wait what?"

"Just look Yaz. Use your bloody eyes"

"Ohhh". A pause followed "Ohhhhhh". Another pause. "No freaking way". Solemn silence.

Not that the Doctor noticed much, her mind still with said woman at the dimly lit bar. She was leaning forward now, positively flirting with the barkeeper. She felt jealousy bubbling up inside her, though the emotion was soon eclipsed by the fascination. The woman with the mop of gold atop her head was wearing a black dress that was way too fancy to be worn in a location such as this dingy bar, though it was definitely not too modest to be worn in a location such as this. And she was drawing all the eyes in the room on herself. Though naturally the Doctor couldn't spare a second thought to the boys whispering in the back of the room and the girls trying to catch the woman's eye.

She couldn't help wondering what her reaction to the TARDIS would be. How amazed she would be when the Doctor showed her all of the stars in the universe. She would be amazed right? And bloody never want to leave her and the TARDIS right? Who would? Though maybe the woman had already seen half of the universe. She certainly acted like she knew all it's secrets. Magnificent, confident. Maybe she could impress her with her hat collection? The woman would most definitely have never seen something akin to it. The Doctor was certain she had the biggest and best hat collection in all of the time and space. Not to mention her coat collection. Though they certainly weren't as interesting but hats.

"You should talk to her, you know Doctor" Yaz chimed in again.

"Yeah, staring isn't such a great flirting strategy. Believe me, I've tried. Though it probably was more along the lines of awkward glancing", Ryan added.

"Wait. You were shy once?... cute"

Slowly, like water creeping into the TARDIS when she had once landed her in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, her mind began to register what was actually said.

"Lovey Doey?!", she exclaimed. "I am most certainly not lovey doey. More along the lines of .... very fascinated. Yes fascinated."

"Doctor.... we literally said those words like at least 5 minutes ago"

"Yeah, Ryans right. We even skipped your turn and continued with the game."

"You're losing by the way. Lovestruck and all."

"I am not lovestruck!", the Doctor tried defending herself.

"Uhh Doctor, you have been drooling for 3 minutes", Yaz said, "I would call that lovestruck"

"I have not!", the Doctor exclaimed making sure to shut her lips tightly after having s, rpoken.

"Just go over and talk, will you?"

"But......"

"You're the Doctor for gods sake! You wouldn't be afraid of talking to a woman!"

The encouragement by Yaz was enough for the Doctor to resolve that yes she definitely should talk to that woman. She knew from previous experiences that this face must be quite charming and she hoped it would stay that way. She took a tiny step forward.... promptly walking against the pool table. "Ooops, didn't see that one"

"The great Doctor: Halted by a mere table"

The woman had apparently heard her stumbling against the table, for she was slowly turning towards the group of friends, revealing...

"Shut up Ryan"

Somewhere in the back of her mind the teasing registered. However her mind had also stopped working altogether, running in circles of utter disbelief, panic, relief, disbelief, space hair that suddenly was everywhere and "River...", she exhaled.

No no no no no no no! This couldn't be happening! Why did she have to run into her now? Just when she thought that she was finally starting to get over her? Just when the pain had started to dull? NOOOO! Oh why must the universe be so cruel to her today? She longed to look her into the eyes and scream  _"I love you! It's me! The Doctor! I've missed you so so much!"_ , but she couldn't do that could she? It would mess with their timelines and she couldn't have that. Not ever. But with such a vengeance came her desires and longings which she had pushed into a far corner of her mind that she could barely contain herself to not leap over the pool table and sweep her up in her arms.

Wow. This face really was one for dramatic fantasies. And apparently staring with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

The Doctor prepared for the look of mild disinterest, which one casts a stranger, to hit her full force, for the lack of recognition to shatter her into a million pieces. What she did not prepare for was to be met with eyes sparkling with playful flirting and a lust for adventure, lips curling into a seductive smile. The Doctor died into that exact moment. Her mouth closed and opened again, she must have looked like a koi. But Kois were cool, right? And she may or may not have dropped the wine glass she was holding, spilling it on the pool table she had just stumbled against.  _Suave, Doctor. Very Elegant. Now she must think you are an idiot._ But when, if ever, had the Doctor not been an idiot around River? "Oops again." She looked back up from the table, grinning like a madman that did not know the concept of embarrassment. 

"Gosh, she is a mess!", Ryan whispered to Yaz.

"No I'm not! This is a very effective flirting strategy! See now she is making her way over to me, instead of me going up to her", the Doctor replied though everyone knew that the Doctor was as far from any kind of strategy as one could get. Though it did seem to work and River was still smiling, twinkles in her eyes and.... coming towards her!? This hadn't been what she had wanted?! This was most definitely not helping with the whole getting over River and keeping her identity hidden thing.

"Quick! If you two guys stand in front me I can get under the table and she will just think I have magically vanished!", she ordered her friends. Who just rolled their eyes and pushed her in front of them. 

"You know, sometimes you are an idiot"

However the Doctor didn't have much time to think about the insult with River filling up all of her field of vision, golden curls eclipsing everything.

"Don't you know it's rude to stare?", River said, her blue eyes winking at her. Too close. Much too close to the Doctor. She could smell the scent of time, of old books and dusty ruins and ... was it vanilla? No, the was more to it and the Doctor instinctively moved forward to figure it out. She inhaled deeply and noticed...custard!

"Darling, sniffing isn't much better than staring. And I certainly don't mind you using all your senses, but don't you think it would be a bit inappropriate here?"

Yaz and Ryan gasped, suddenly growing very very quiet. Meanwhile the Doctor stood dumbfounded. She had always known that River was shamelessly flirtatious, but she had never thought her to be this forward with strangers.

"Uhhh... " she mumbled tilting her head back up to look at River. Beautiful ageless blue eyes that she had dreamed for so long to look into again stared down at her, millennia old secrets swirling behind them, though they were overshadowed by the playfulness, the joy and the affection they held. River tilted her head, expectantly waiting for an answer. Maybe the Doctor should form something more comprehensible and clever. Like ...

"I used to love custard! Went great with fishfingers, though I don't know how I feel about that now. But then again, I hated peaches last time and I still do, so maybe I still like fishfingers. I definitely do like the custard. I guess. And I like hats! I've got a whole hat collection in my box! Would you like to see it?"

Yaz and Ryan, who had up until now been stunned into silence by Rivers brazen advances, shook their head in desperation.

"Sweetie", River breathed and the Doctor held her breath feeling strangely jealous of herself. As much as she enjoyed hearing the endearment again, it was reserved for her, not to be flung at random strangers in a bar.

"I've already seen all the hats this universe has to offer. I didn't think it would be possible to add to that."

The Doctors heart fell. This was impossible. How could she have seen more hats than were in her hat collection? And if not her hat collection what else was there to impress River with? She looked down dejected, pouting slightly. Feeling suddenly as grey and drab as her surroundings, the lamp over the pool table flickering in a glooming yellow, illuminating the field to a green, that was more grey than any other color. "Oh"

"Honey, Doctor I was just teasing. I think your hat collection is adorable", River said lifting the Doctors chin up and coaxing her to meet her eyes again. And meet they did. Her eyes snapped back to Rivers in a shocked moment of joyful realization, wide and unguarded.  _Doctor?_ Did River know? River knew! River always knew. She felt like pounding her head against the pool table for her blindness and stupidity. She should have trusted River to know. Of course she did. The revelation struck her like lightning coursing through her veins and leaving her with a thousand thoughts, like kissing River, hugging River, loving River, running with River, feeling like a newborn sun shining bright into the darkness of the universe calling out to "River...", she breathed, her hand moving up to touch her face reverently. And suddenly all the playfulness vanished out of Rivers eyes, leaving behind sadness and the weight of centuries passed.

"Doctor... tell me. How long has it been?"

Unable to answer, too mesmerized and her heart still thudding with the joy of holding River again, she looked back into the eyes of depthless blue, the sadness reverberating in her chest. It mixed with the happiness to form a potent concoction of joy and pain, of unavoidable doomed finality and flickering steadfast hope, forever interwoven into the fabric of their time.

River seemed to understand, her eyes a mirror of everything the Doctor was feeling, pulling their foreheads together. "I know", she breathed before touching their lips together and the Doctor felt they were her salvation from the universe and their stupidly tangled timelines, filling her with the light and courage to keep helping and fixing the universe instead of accepting its cruelty as it were. Their lips brushed together, forming promises and vows, and the Doctor was loath to ever part with them again.

When they ultimately did all of River's playfulness and banter had returned to Rivers dark eyes. "Now what was that about your hat collection?"

The Doctor stood stunned silent for a moment, like a lost puppy in the headlights.  _Speak idiot!_ Her inner voice sounded that had respectfully left her alone up until now. "Right TARDIS, hat collection: This way", she gleefully exclaimed grabbing Rivers hand and promptly slipping on the spilled wine. Not that the Doctor minded much making a fool of herself, not when it got River laughing, such a beautiful sound she had missed for far too long. The Doctor grinned up at her sheepishly. Neither pool table nor tangled timelines would ever keep them apart for too long. 

 

 

 

 

"Oh wait. I've forgotten something!", the Doctor exclaimed when they were standing in front of the TARDIS.

"If you mean your friends, they have cleared out with the rest of the bar when you so shamelessly offered to show me your hat collection. I guess they made it back here"

"Oh, never noticed that. Well then, welcome back to the TARDIS. You're late by the way", she said trying to look cool and leaning with her arm against the TARDIS, only to miss it by a few inches and stumbling into the grass.

"You are stupidly and endearingly adorable, darling"

"Am I the most adorable face of them all?"

"Yes sweetie, you are"

The Doctor thanked the universe for the gracelessness and all the pool tables in the world it had bestowed upon her, while pulling River into the TARDIS behind her. The universe would have to fix itself for tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited for the new Doctor Who to air! This is to everyone sharing my excitement, I hope you liked it! If you have any constructive criticism or notice any mistakes, unclear passages etc. please do shoot me a message. I'd be very thankful for it.


End file.
